Remote keyless entry (“RKE”) systems are widely used in vehicle entry applications. A small, portable, battery-powered fob controls entry into the vehicle wirelessly via one or more radio frequency (“RF”) links. RKE systems may be designed for one-directional RF communication (from a fob to a vehicle), only, or for bidirectional communication between the fob and the vehicle. In one-way RKE systems, the fob contains an RF transmitter for sending entry commands to an RF receiver mounted inside the vehicle. In two-way RKE systems, the fob is instead equipped with an RF transceiver for two-directional communication with another transceiver mounted inside the vehicle.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (“DOT's”) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) announced in February, 2014 that it was beginning to take steps to enable light vehicles in the U.S. to be equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle (“V2V”) communication. The V2V communication technology would allow vehicles to “talk” to each other, exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times every second. The goal of the V2V technology would be to avoid many crashes altogether through the sharing of situational information. NHTSA also stated in the announcement that they would begin working on a regulatory proposal that would require V2V devices in new vehicles in a future year. It is expected that such V2V communication systems will operate in the 5.8 GHz range.